The Trump administration is considering whether to deport the family of the man accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., officials said Thursday. Federal authorities have identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who allegedly opened fire near the White House on Wednesday, killing one Guard member and leaving another in critical condition.
During a Thursday exchange with NewsNation reporter Libbey Dean, President Donald Trump was asked whether he intends to remove Lakanwal’s wife and five children, who currently reside in Washington state.
“Well, we’re looking at that right now. We’re looking at the whole situation with family. Tragic situation,” Trump responded, according to the outlet.
Investigators say Lakanwal previously worked with the CIA in Afghanistan before immigrating to the United States in 2021. He arrived under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program and later applied for asylum, which was approved after President Donald Trump took office.
In response to the shooting, the White House announced it will review green cards issued to citizens of 19 countries. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has also suspended all pending immigration applications from Afghan nationals.
“At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” Joseph Edlow, the agency’s director, wrote on social platform X.
On Thursday, Trump announced on social media that he plans to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover.” He didn’t name specific countries in his post.
Organizations like Afghan Evac, which helps resettle individuals from Afghanistan who have assisted U.S. troops, are worried that Afghan allies may be unfairly targeted by new immigration policies following the shooting.
“We can’t let the actions of one deranged individual totally vilify an entire population,” Shawn VanDiver, president of Afghan Evac, told NewsNation’s “Morning in America.”
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Friday that Lakanwal will face a first degree murder charge. Pirro announced the upgraded charge after officials confirmed Thursday that one of the victims, 20-year-old Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, died from her injuries in a D.C. area hospital, the Washington Times reported.
The suspect is also facing three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.
Pirro said Friday on “Fox & Friends” that there are “many more charges to come,” including murder in the first degree. Beckstrom volunteered to work duty over the holiday, Pirro said, and “she ended up being shot ambush style on the cold streets of Washington, D.C.”
Lakanwal was arrested moments after the ambush near Farragut Square Park, two blocks from the White House. Reports said that he allegedly overstayed his visa and was living illegally in the U.S.
He is charged with shooting Beckstrom and Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, the latter of whom is still fighting for his life.
Both guardsmen were members of the West Virginia National Guard deployed to Washington at the request of President Trump to help strengthen safety in the city.
Beckstrom, of Webster Springs, West Virginia, served with the National Guard’s 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade, and had been deployed in the District since August.
The shooting suspect arrived in the United States on Sept. 8, 2021, as part of the evacuation flights arranged under President Biden to remove Afghans who had assisted U.S. military forces during the fall of Kabul.
Trump said the suspect later had his status extended under “legislation signed by President Biden,” though it remains unclear which measure applied.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the suspect had since been approved for asylum but declined to provide additional details.
